The rain that pours down onto the Triad Stage Theatre provides just the right kind of superb, splashy finale for the newly staged revival of N. Richard Nash’s 46-year-old comedy-drama The Rainmaker.
Set in the 1920s, the play, an American fairy tale, is about how the loving, confident H.C. Curry (Ed Pilkington) sends his daughter Lizzie (Elisabeth Ritson) to another town to be courted by the sons of an old family friend.
When she returns home, single and defeated, her brother Noah (Michael Legg) tells her she’s plain and that she’ll never get married. This is after the only eligible man in town, the divorced deputy sheriff File (Jeff Talbott) resisted the Curry men’s attempt to get him to come by for dinner and take a closer look at Lizzie.
Noah also bullies his kid brother Jim (Nathan Anderson), who’s after a young woman Noah thinks is wild. He’s the only supporter when the self-professed rainmaker Starbuck (Steven Rishard) comes by, selling his dreams.
Lizzie thinks of Starbuck as a liar and an impostor. But when he flatters her with the thoughtfulness of a sincere compliment and gives her an affectionate kiss, she realizes that it isn’t to late to find love. She gives in to him, and Starbuck finds redemption as an honest man.
The actors really connected to their roles and gave good insights to human behavior. Nevertheless, not the entire cast looked comfortable on stage. There were long periods in which the characters seemed to be using movements that have been carefully studied. At times, some looked as if they are overacting, which tended to take away from the mood.
What helped immensely in bringing this all into a sense of closeness was the remarkably realistic plains-state interior set design. It flawlessly captured the farmhouse feel of the Great Depression era of 1938.The Curry farmhouse consisted of some furniture and a door frame set against a far-off horizon of dry Midwestern plains, with a staircase on the side going up and rows of wheat stalks placed at the rear of the deck. This set design evoked a sense of the endless space of the west. Costumes and lighting designs were also colorful and effective.
I highly recommend this play to Guilford students, and it’s only $5 for students with their IDs.
The Rainmaker is now playing at the Triad Theater in downtown Greensboro from Sept. 21 to Oct.12, 2003.